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.B44 
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PEOPEITY OF T?" 
WBMRY OF CO.:"t 



The Practical 



SHOW CARD 

^ WRITER ^ 



/ ' 



34^ 



THE PRACTICAL SHOW CARD WRITER. 



Show cai'ds and price tickets for advertising purposes have 
become a great necessity for all branches of industry, they are not 
only used in every store and restauran"': , etc., but also bought in large 
quantities by Manufacturers and distributed by them among their retail 
customers to attract the attention of buyers for specialties of their 
manufactures. A neat Show card and Price ticket written in black on 
light cardboard or in white plain letters en colored car'dboard, espec- 
ially on black, is alwaj'^s attractive an-- - — - — — ' ---' Window or 

Store decoration. 

The Mat er^?i^'»g^ijie rally used for Show cards and Pi-ice tickets 
13 black, gray or white cardboard which varies in thickness and qual- 
'■y according to size and kind of Show card. Por all small cards and 

\^--/^^-- 3^ 4 to 6-ply cardboard is u.^f^, /'"■■ 1^ "~ .--..,-. ^ 3 g^j^^^ some- 

J -ply cardboard is necessary. 

BRUSHES. It is absolutely necessary that good brvishes be 
used. Bed sable is the best brush for rapid w^ork and will keep in 
shape longer than any other. After using, don't fail to clean them 
thoroughly, it keeps the brushes in good condition and saves time, 
as it is much easier to clean up directly after using than when the 
brush has had time to dry. If the brushes have been used for water 
colors they should be cleaned in water only, if oil paint has been 
used, clean the brushes in turpentine. A great many sign painters keep 
the lettei-ing bi'ushes used for oil paint in lard or vaseline when not 
in use, this keeps the hair soft and pliable. It is advisable to keep 
one set of brushes for water colors and one set for oil colors. 
PEN -POINTS. Por some lettering a stub pen or a ro\md writing pen will 
be found serviceable, for fine work use a soft pointed pen, all lines 
and borders are drawn with a plain penpoint or ruling pen. 

COLORS. BLACK PAINT POR VvRITIKG OF LIGHT CARDBOARD. 
There are many different kinds of prepai^ed marking ink on the mar'ket, 
most of T?,hich can be used successfully. But as some prefer to mix 
their own I can recommend a receipt, v;hich I have used a great many 
years. It produces a black enamel-like letter and if carefully mixed 
will be always ready for use: Mix thr-ee parts of Ivory drop black and 
one part best asphaltum and thin with turpentine. The best results 
s,re obta.ined by preparing about a half pint and allowing it to stand 
two or three days. When not in use it should be well covered, as dust 
will spoil the glossy finish it should have when dry. If it dries a 
brownish shade, too much asphaltum has been used. If there is no 
gloss a little more asphaltum should be added. 

WHITE PAINT. A superior white paint for use on dark card- 
board is made of white zinc, mucilage and water. This is to be mixed 
only as used, as after it has once dried it cannot be used again. 
Mix equal parts of Refined White Zinc and water and add a few drops 
of mucilage, stir well before using. If the paint cracks after hav- 
ing dried, too much mucilage has been used. It may require several 
experiments before the exact proportions can be determined, as atmos- 
pheric conditions will have considerable infuence on the consistancy 
of the mixture. • 

COLORED PAINTS, ColorM waterpaints are mixed in the same 
way as the white paj.nt described' above . Colored oil paints can be 
bought much cheaper ready mixed in small cans, but generally need the 
addition of some turpentine before they can be used for lettering. 
It will not be necessary to bu7' all the colors used, as by mixing two 
or more of the ordinary colors you can get all the shades and tones. 
In the table of colors stated below the principal ingredient is named 
first and the others in '".\'i c'rder of their importance. Por instance 
Orange is nearly all y-' rt a dash of red. The exact pro - 



\ 



P'"- Tiust "be determined by experience. Many different Shades may 
be 5d by changing the proportions of the ingredients or by ra- 
ve leir order. Addition of white will give the color a lighter 
sh 

tabi:e por mixing colored paint. 

Buff -- White, Yellow, Ochre and Red 

Chocolate -- Raw Umber, Red and Black 

Claret — Red, Umber and Black 

Blue -- Ultramarine 

Dove -- White, Vermillion, Blue and "Xellow 

Drab -- White, Yellow, Ochre, Red and Black 

Pav^n -- White, Yellow and Red 

I'lesh -- White, Yellow Ochre and VeiTnillion 

French Gray — White, "Prussian" Blue and Lake 

Gray -- White and Black 

Gold -- White, Stone-Ochre and Red 

Green -- Blue and Yellow 

Green Bronze -- Chrome Green, Black and Yellow 

Green Pea -- White and Chrome Green 

Lavender -- Blue, White and Red 

Lemon -- White and Chrome Yellow 

Olive - Yellow, Blue, Black and White 

Orange -- Yellow and Red 

Peach -- White and Vermillion 

Pearl -- White, Black emd Blue 

Pink -- White, Vermillion and Lake 

Pui-ple -- Blue and Red 

Red -- Vermillion 

Rose -- White and Madder Lake 

Violet -- Red, Blue and White 

Yellow -- Chrome Yellow 

TO MIX GOLD, SILVER OR COPPER-BRONZE AS WATER COLOR. 

Take a little of Gold or Silver or Copper Bronze-powder add 
a few drops of mucilage, stir well until it becomes a thick pulp and 
add a little water; don't use too much mucilage as the bronze will 
lose its bright color. 

FIRST PRACTICE WITH BRUSH AND PEN. 

On sample chart No . 1 a single stroke alphabet is shown. 
All written characters are made in sections. Each stroke is numbered 
to indicate the order in which it is to be made. 

Copy this chart several times on cardboard or plain paper. 
Put the cardboard flat on the table, hold the brush between the thumb 
and first and second fingers very nearly perpendicular. To give your 
right hand a more steady position, place your left hand in front of ycu 
and allow the palm of your right hand to rest on top of your left hand. 
Start all vertical strokes at the top and go down.- Always make hor- 
izontal strokes from left to right. iPollow the order which is indi - 
Gated by the numbers, the darts show the i-ight direction. Prom the 
block letters as shown on chart No. 2 in the same general way, making 
the section in the parallel lines, instead of one stroke, when the 
outline of the letter is complete fill in the space between the lines 
as shown on chart No. 1. Letters 2 and P. Charts No. 3 and 4 show 
specimen of the different, styles of Roman letters. Both these style 
are being used extensively for card work. The letters are formed the 
same as block letters on chart No. 2 employing the system used in 
forming the single stroke letters on chart No. 1. 

TO WRITE SYSTEi^ATICAU':. In the book containing "Student's 
Alphabets" you will fin. en p«<?e 1 Egyptian letters, on page 2 Block 
letters, on page 3 Roman lett -rs . Take a plain sheet of paper, lule 
off the squares in the samftec' -^''i®^ ^^ shown in the book and write the 
letters in exactly the saiji^ ^ay, this will be a good practice which 
you will haTe tc do severicffj imes. 



One of the principal requirements in card sign writing is 
the proper spacing of the letters, words and sentences. All letters 
must be spaced at equal distances apart. The spaces between words 
should be about double the space used between the letters. A margin 
clear of lettering should be left all around the sign, anywhere from 
one -eighth to one-quarter of the entire length of Ihe card. This clear 
space around the reading matter tends to make the lettering stand out 
clearer and makes the sign more readable. A card with medium size 
letters and wide margin is more legible than one of the same size with 
large heavy lettering which covers the entire card, besides it is of 
much better taste. After you have practiced the instructions given 
above and you are ready to start sign-writing draw a sketch of the 
wording which you intent to write, with a soft pencil on a thin piece 
of paper. The size of the letters of course must be in proportion to 
the size of the cai'd you are going to write on, as well as the distance 
between two lines must be in proportion to the size of the letters. As 
a rule the small letters are 2/3 in heighth of the capital letters. 
The margin between the lines should not be less than the heighth of the 
small letters, a wide margin is always preferable. Instead of squares 
draw 3 horizontal lines for each line of writing on your sketch. The 
distance between the top and the second line must be one-half of the 
distance between the second and the lowest line. Write the capital 
letters between the top and lowest line and the small letters between 
the second and the lowest line. As said before all this writing on 
the sketch must be done with a soft pencil. When your sketch is com- 
pleted properly place it on the cardboard in the proper position and 
keep it in place with drawing pins. Then outline your wording again 
v/ith a very hard and well pointed pencil. This will leave a readable 
impression on the cardboard. All you have got to do now is to take 
off the sketch, redraw the impression made en the cardboard with a 
penpoint and the color you are going to use, then fill in with a 
brush. After you have done this work foi' a certain length of time, 
you will be able to write free handed on the cardboard without a 
sketch. It is advisable though to use the horizontal lines (very light) 
as explained before they can be easily erased after the show-card is 
finished. 

The writing of smaller letters and the outlining of larger 
ones with a biush is rather difficult in the beginning and requires 
some practice, therefore a penpoint should be used at first. Por very 
fine work the brush must always be pointed. To obtain the point dip 
the brush into the paint, squeeze off the superfluous paint on the 
edge of the paint jar and role the brush to a point on a piece of 
glass. To refill the point of the brush with paint use the paint left 
on the piece of glass. 

TO MAKE LETTERING OF CARDBOARD LOOK LIKE EMBOSSED draw the 
outlines of the letters first and fill in a thick paint with a very 
full brush. Small borders around the signs which cover the edges 
entirely as shown on samples can be done very neatly with a small 
ordinary brush cut down to a stump. Take the sign in your left hand, 
the brush in the right hand, then apply the stump brush on the edge of 
the sign and draw around. This is an easy way of drawing an absolute- 
ly straight line . 

THE SHADING OE LETTERS is shown in "Student's Alphabet" on page called 
"Letters variously shaded". There is no need for any explanation. 

ORNAMENTS make the signs very attractive. As the variety of ornaments 
is very large and depend? very much upon the taste of the single in- 
dividual I am not able to furtiish here any instructions in this line. 
After having acquired efficiency in sign writing it is advisable to 
study designs especially published for this purpose. 

THE CUTTING OE THE SIGN should be. done before you start in to paint. 
The best thing to use is a heavy pair of sharp scissors. Do not use a 
penknife, as this is dangerous/ a false movement may turn the knife 
and you injure your hand, ■ same time you easily tear the surface 
of the cardboard. Very fi ners should be stamped out with a 
book binder's knife. 

Richard 0. Bersick. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



!HIII Mill Mill nil II 
013 963 875 n< 



